Ex-QBs give Kiffin an A for offense, incomplete overall
Lane Kiffin is widely credited for his razor-sharp tactic al football mind when i t c o mes t o di re c t i ng a n offense.
B u t h e a d c o a c h e s a r e responsible for much more than game-planning alone, and the new Florida Atlantic c o a c h h a s d r awn mi xe d reviews when it comes to the other tasks.
“When it came to X’s and O’s, Lane Kiffin was the guy to have,” Mitch Mustain, who quarterbacked under Kiffin at USC, recently said. “He knows what defenses are doing. He can make adjustments. ... I just think Lane, for whatever reason, struggled with the entire picture as a head coach.”
Mustain said Kiffin sometimes appeared “wholly disinterested” in his head-coaching duties, a criticism that followed the coach to FAU in his maybe-serious, maybe-not viral recruiting video.
“There was nothing unique about what he did,” Mustain said. “It just seemed to us, there was no effort for it.”
Before FAU came calling in December, Kiffin hadn’t held a head-coaching posi- tion since his dismissal from USC midway through the 2013 season.
He spent the three previous seasons as offensive coordinator under Nick Saban at Alabama.
Not all of Kiffin’s former quarterbacks agree with Mustain’s assessment. Jonathan Crompton, who played for Kiffin during his one season as coach at Tennessee, credited his ability to connect with players and maximize their abilities.
“He k n o ws wh a t h e ’s doing,” Crompton said. “He knows how to relate to young kids, to get them motivated. ... I loved him. He was the old cliché of a players’ coach — truly, truly was, though.”
John David Booty had Kiffin as an offensive coordinator at USC and offered similar support.
“In my experience with him, I have nothing but high praise for him and the things he’s been able to accomplish,” Booty said.
The Owls are the fourth t e a m t o g ive Ki f f i n t hei r head-coaching reins. He went 35-21 over four-plus seasons at USC and Tennessee and posted a 5-15 mark during his short stint leading the Oakland Raiders.